Detroit Diners Still Prefer Outdoor Seating During the Pandemic, Even If It’s Cold #DetroitFood

Will diners brave the cold weather to support local restaurants this winter? Most respondents to an Eater Detroit survey said “yes.” | Stock Detroit

Roughly 64 percent of Eater Detroit survey respondents said they plan to continue eating outside in some form this winter

As restaurants gear up for autumn weather with plastic bubbles and outdoor heaters, Detroit diners overwhelmingly said they’re still going to patronize patios during the pandemic — even if it’s winter. According to a recent Eater Detroit survey, 64 percent of respondents said they will choose an outdoor dining option this winter rather than moving indoors or switching back to takeout and delivery-only dining.

Many restaurant owners have relied on outdoor seating as a way to recoup seating losses from capacity restrictions since the reopening of dining rooms on June 8, while ensuring service that’s considered slightly less risky due to the increased airflow. However, during the cold months between October until roughly May, restaurants and bars around Michigan usually retire patio sets. Some operators are now weighing the cost of investing in equipment such as outdoor heaters and shelters to help sustain their establishment’s outside tables.

The polls conducted in early October asked readers a series of questions about their current dining habits and how they might adjust them going into a period of colder weather. Winter is an inevitable in Michigan that’s known to correlate with declines in business at local restaurants — something that’s even more concerning now due to the economic and operational challenges of the pandemic. Eater also wanted to gauge patrons’ perceptions of different styles of seating options used during cold weather such as geodesic domes.

According to the survey, roughly 27 percent of respondents reported that they’re currently relying on takeout, curbside pickup, and home cooking rather than dining out during the pandemic. Meanwhile, 48 percent of respondents stated that they are dining out at restaurants right now, but only in an al fresco seating area such as a patio or deck. A quarter of restaurant customers indicated that they are willing to eat both indoors and outdoors. This suggests that a majority of diners in the Detroit area are now comfortable with some form of in-person service, but that the majority still strongly favor outside seating.

Of those who responded to the survey, 39 percent of customers said they were only willing to eat with people outside of their household or pod if they were seated in an outdoor seating area; that’s opposed to the 21 percent of respondents who said they were willing to eat with those outside their household or pod regardless of whether they were meeting indoors or outdoors.

As for the winter seating situations, responses were extremely mixed. A 33 percent majority indicated they preferred outdoor seating, but only in a large, open air space such as a pavilion with heaters and blankets; that’s opposed to the 18 percent of poll takers who indicated they would prefer an enclosed group shelter like a geodesic dome or tent. Of those who responded, only nine percent said they would begin transitioning to indoor dining due to the weather, while 13 percent said they planned to resume exclusively ordering takeout and delivery or cooking at home during the pandemic.

Overall, the numbers do suggest some hope that customers will continue to turn out for in-person dining on patios even in the winter. Michiganders are immune to chilly weather, afterall. However, a 13 percent decrease in dine-in business could pose significant challenges to businesses that are already scraping by.

• Detroit: Will You Dine Outdoors This Winter? [ED]
• How Coronavirus Is Impacting the Detroit Food and Beverage Industry [ED]
• All Coronavirus Coverage [ED]

from Eater Detroit - All